Reading Greek Orthodox worshippers have welcomed the leader of their church in the UK for a special celebration.
The worshippers in Reading received the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain to celebrate the feast day of Prophet Elias the patron of the Greek Orthodox community in Reading.
To mark the occasion, Nikitas Loulias the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, led worship at St Mark’s Church in Cranbury Road, West Reading on Sunday, July 16.
He was recently seen in the public eye as he held a prayer for His Majesty King Charles III during his coronation.
After the holy liturgy, worshippers and guests enjoyed food along with the usual hot drinks and refreshments held after every service.
Addressing the congregation in Reading, the Archbishop joked that it would be best to speak in English to address, albeit in an American accent, as he was born and raised in Tampa, Florida.
Archbishop Nikitas said: “Thank you to all of you for your love and kindness.
“May the community continue to grow and multiply.
“It’s a blessing to have Slovaks, Poles, Romanians, Greeks, Cypriots, Brits, the Lebanese and many more.
“May the community grow and become what we are supposed to be, and that is one family like Noah’s Ark, of all shapes and sizes, some of us thin, some of us a little bit larger, but all together with love.”
He then blessed the congregation.
In remarks to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Archbishop Nikitas said: “Now that Covid is gone I’m trying to visit to parishes more frequently, so I get to know the community, they get to know me, and to show them the love of the church and fellowship, and to reinforce the identity of unity, of our own community, our unity with other Christians, but also with non-Christians and other communities of faith, so that we can do good for the world and society.”
The congregation is currently searching for alternative accommodation, as the Greek Orthodox community use St Mark’s Church as a shared space with the Church of England (CofE), which owns the building and the church hall.
The celebration was attended by councillor Tony Page, the Mayor of Reading, his consort and the CofE pastoral team at St Mark’s.
Cllr Page (Labour, Abbey) said: “The Archbishop and others locally invited me and I’m very grateful for that as Mayor.
“I’m very impressed with the organisation, the catering and the diversity here.
“I’ve also indicated that I’m willing to help the community look for more permanent accommodation.
“The council clearly doesn’t have any buildings any more, we have rationalised and downsized and sold off many of our former buildings, but we do have a raft of contacts locally and I’m happy to work with the organisation to see what we might be able to secure for them in the long term.
“It wouldn’t be a church building per se but it could be an industrial unit, as indeed a number of other religious organisations have secured.
“There are other premises that are becoming available since Covid and the changes in business operations so I think the chances of working with them to find some alternative accommodation are much better than would be the case a few years ago.”
The celebration also saw a speech from Father Andreas Andreopoulos, the priest, leaving for some time for family business.
The Greek Orthodox community in Reading dates back to 1977, with it previously occupying St Bartholomew’s Church in East Reading before moving to St Mark’s in 2015.
Prophet Elias, more commonly known as Elijah, lived some 900 years before the coming of Jesus Christ.
According to religious tradition, Elijah is known for challenging King Ahab of Israel and Jezebel, who both sought to introduce the worship of the pagan god Baal among the Jews.
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